Livorno LNG Terminal, Italy

The offshore LNG project at Livorno in Italy received its final environmental approval in May 2004 and construction was started. The project 'Offshore LNG Toscana' has the following shareholding: Endesa Europa SL (Endesa) – 25.5%; IRIDE Mercato SpA (IRIDE) – 22.73%; Azienda Servizi Ambientali SpA (ASA) – 2.77%; OLT Energy Toscana SpA (OLT-E) – 29% and Golar Offshore Toscana Limited (Golar) – 20%.

Endesa will control 50% of the gas and the project is expected to supply over 3bcm of natural gas a year to the Italian market by its start date in the final quarter of 2008. OLT Offshore LNG Toscana SpA is the development company set up for the Livorno floating LNG regasification project.

CrossGas Offshore, which is a group of private Italian entrepreneurs backed by the Falck Group, appears to have garnered significant local support for the project and also have a small stake.

ASA Livorno, the local municipal gas and utility company, has joined the venture and CrossGas had hoped that the local shipyard would be able to undertake the conversion of the LNG vessel for the project but this specialist work has been contracted elsewhere.

The cost of construction / conversion of the ship platform and associated pipeline infrastructure has been estimated at €400m ($250m). Endesa has two long-term supply agreements with Nigeria LNG Limited and Ras Laffan LNG Limited of Qatar each for a billion cubic metres of annual supply, which can be used to supply the ship platform if necessary.

LIVORNO CONTRACTORS

Italian pipeline company OLT Offshore and fellow Italians Falck plan to install the unit about 12 miles (20km) offshore of Livorno.

OLT has signed a deal with the city of Livorno to supply gas from the three billion cubic metres a year terminal, which can be expanded to six billion cubic metres a year if required (supplies may be regulated to 3.75 billion cubic metres a year by the government).

OLT and Falck have tried to attract participants to receive gas, including negotiations with several municipalities in Tuscany.

FLOATING STORAGE REGASIFICATION UNIT (FSRU)

Golar LNG own 20% of the development company and included in the deal is an intention to sell the LNG carrier Golar Frost to the project for conversion to the platform. It is also intended that Golar will have certain rights with respect to regasification capacity and LNG transportation.

Moss Maritime of Norway, which is wholly owned by Saipem / ENI (ENI is Italy's national oil and gas company) has designed the FSRU conversion. The four-turret ship with a storage capacity of 173,000m³ will be converted within 27 months at the Keppler Shipyards (Singapore).

Saipem will install the ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore gas transfer facilities.

The LNG terminal conversion ship is a steel mono hull with Moss LNG tanks arranged in the middle, with the regasification plant in the forward section and crew facilities with control room and utility machinery in the aft section.

The LNG offloading tankers will be moored in a side-by-side configuration with the FSRU for efficient replenishment of the terminal. The FSRU will be stationed offshore and, through a subsea pipeline, will be capable of a throughput of 3bscm a year at variable gas send out pressures of up to 85bar.

The conversion will cost $90m. The same principle is being adopted for the conversion of an LNG carrier to a float power generation plant for use off the coast of Cyprus.

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